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We are a sector-leading quality agency with unmatched experience of providing impartial regulatory and collaborative quality assurance and enhancement in Scotland. We work in partnership with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), other sector quality agencies, students, and Scotland’s colleges and universities to ensure that learners experience the highest quality of education.
QAA was delighted to have been commissioned by SFC to lead key areas of Scotland’s Tertiary Quality Project (TQP). The TQP involved the development and delivery of the Tertiary Quality Enhancement Framework, which articulates a common approach to assuring and enhancing quality in Scotland’s tertiary sector.
Our activity in 2025-26
Scotland’s Tertiary Enhancement Programme (STEP)
QAA will continue to partner with College Development Network (CDN) to deliver Scotland’s Tertiary Enhancement Programme (STEP), the national enhancement programme of activity for Scotland’s colleges and universities. The focus of the second year of ‘Supporting diverse Learner Journeys’ will be on implementing the collaborative projects designed in the Discovery Phase. QAA and CDN will support project teams to deliver impactful activity that improves and enhances the learner experience in Scotland’s colleges and universities.
Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review (TQER)
In 2025-26, QAA Scotland will deliver the second year of the current external institutional review method, TQER. TQER is a peer-led, enhancement-focused approach to review. It contains the flexibility to support different institutional contexts, modes of delivery and levels of learning. Taken together with the wider TQEF, TQER is intended to support assurance and enhancement of academic standards and the quality of the student learning experience for Scotland’s colleges and universities.
National Review of Awarding Arrangements
In 2025-6, QAA was commissioned, through a four-phased process, to provide assurance to the SFC, beyond that provided by existing quality assurance mechanisms, that arrangements for the awarding of qualifications are being applied consistently, effectively and transparently; and that academic standards are being maintained.
Latest news
Scotland’s tertiary sector gathers for STEP Network event 8 and national conference on learner journeys
| Date: | May 28 - 2026 |
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Representatives of Scotland’s tertiary sector came together this week as Scotland’s Tertiary Enhancement Programme (STEP) hosted a programme of events at Glasgow Caledonian University including our latest STEP Network event and our STEP conference attended by more than 200 delegates from across Scotland.
The week began on Tuesday 26 May with STEP Network event 8 – the eighth STEP Day and final Network gathering of the academic year – bringing together more than 60 colleagues from across the tertiary sector.
Hosted at Glasgow Caledonian University, the event showcased the progress made by our STEP projects. Teams from Appreciating Belonging and Enabling Change: From Strategy to Practice, Regional Enhancement and Collaboration in Tertiary Scotland (REACTS), and Supporting Neurodivergent Students with Professional Dialogue in Work-Based Learning Settings provided updates on their work, highlighting collaboration and shared learning across the programme.
The event included an interactive LEGO® Serious Play session led by CDN’s Valerie Jackman, encouraging delegates to explore collaboration, challenge and change through a creative, hands-on approach. The day also included networking and reflection on STEP’s second year.
The week's STEP events continued the following day with the 2026 STEP conference, Stepping Over the Threshold: Belonging and Inclusion in Scotland’s Tertiary Sector, which attracted exceptionally high interest from across Scotland’s tertiary sector.
The conference focused on belonging, inclusion and the transitions shaping learner experiences. Delegates took part in keynote sessions, provocations, workshops and lightning talks designed to support enhancement across the sector.
The conference opened with a Provocations Panel chaired by CDN’s Gordon Hunt. Panellists included New College Lanarkshire student Colin Campbell, Glasgow Kelvin College Principal & CEO Joanna Campbell and Edinburgh Napier Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor Nazira Karodia, who reflected on the conference themes and sector-wide efforts to support diverse learner journeys.
A series of lightning talks highlighted practice across work-integrated learning, neurodiversity support in practice-based settings, student and staff experiences of learning, and approaches to strengthening belonging through curriculum design and mentoring.
Workshops led by STEP project teams and partners explored inclusive assessment, regional collaboration, personalised support in STEM pathways, disabled student experiences, neurodiversity-affirming practice, and student voice and representation.
Together, STEP Network event 8 and the national conference demonstrated a spirit of collaboration across Scotland’s tertiary sector and a shared commitment to inclusive, supportive and empowering learning experiences.
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